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The noise mechanism in a well-designed magnetometer is shown to be due to small-scale magnetic moments which are probably small volumes of the core material that are not oriented by the drive field. Design developments include the sense coil radius and the development of a drive waveform which yields considerably improved performance over the commonly used sine wave drive.
Three time histories of wind profiles in thunderstorm gust fronts at Cape Kennedy and three at Oklahoma City are analyzed. Wind profiles at maximum wind strength below 100 m follow logarithmic laws, so that winds above the surface layer can be estimated from surface winds once the roughness length is known. A statistical analysis of 81 cases of surface winds during thunderstorms at Tampa revealed no predictor with skill to predict the time of maximum gust. Some 34% of the variance of the strength of the gust is accounted for by a stability index and surface wind prior to the gust; the regression equations for these variables are given. The coherence between microscale wind speed variations at the different levels has the same proportions as in non-thunderstorm cases.
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A limiting circuit is described which prevents a signal being supplied to a signal amplifier from exceeding a predetermined value. The circuit is designed to permit a signal voltage to be fed directly to a signal amplifier without passing through the operational amplifier and without being altered undesirably. When the signal level increases to the predetermined value, the summing point shifts from the input of the operational amplifier to the output of the limiting circuit.
Instrumentation consists of high-output resistance voltage measuring amplifier (electrometer) and current-to-frequency converter (current digitizer) coupled to set of timers and counters. Digital display of time-averaged signals with amplitudes varying over 11 decades is possible.
A study was conducted to estimate the type of wind and turbulence distributions which may have existed at the time of the crash of Eastern Airlines Flight 66 while attempting to land. A number of different wind and turbulence profiles are predicted for the site and date of the crash. The morning and mid-afternoon predictions are in reasonably good agreement with magnitude and direction as reported by the weather observer. Although precise predictions cannot be made during the passage of the thunderstorm which coincides with the time of the accident, a number of different profiles which might exist under or in the vicinity of a thunderstorm are presented. The profile that is most probable predicts the mean headwind shear over 100 m (300 feet) altitude change and the average fluctuations about the mean headwind distribution. This combination of means and fluctuations leads to a reasonable probability that the instantaneous headwind shear would equal the maximum value reported in the flight recorder data.
The importance of extra-storm scale mesoscale systems to the genesis and propagation of cumulonimbus systems is discussed, with the primary role of the mesoscale systems viewed as the initiator of cumulonimbus convection. It is demonstrated that thermally driven mesoscale systems such as the Florida sea breeze and Colorado ridge/valley circulations play an important role in the genesis, organization, and intensity of cumulonimbus systems. In the case of the Colorado ridge/valley circulation, however, the importance of the circulation to the genesis and propagation of severe storm systems over the Western Great Plains still remains to be demonstrated.
Young healthy mice were continuously exposed to 0ppm, 0.5ppm, 1.0ppm and 5ppm nitrogen dioxide gas for eight weeks. Nitrogen dioxide exposure for eight weeks decreased the average weight of mice, increased the average weight of lungs, heart, and brain and decreased the average weight of liver. Nitrogen dioxide exposure did not have any effects on the WBC and RBC in mice blood but it increased the HCT and HGB in mice blood. Nitrogen dioxide exposure increased the MCV and decreased the MCH and MCHC in mice blood.
The principal sources of flow unsteadiness in the circuit of a transonic wind tunnel are presented. Care must be taken to avoid flow separations, acoustic resonances and large scale turbulence. Some problems discussed are the elimination of diffuser separations, the aerodynamic design of coolers and the unsteadiness generated in ventilated working sections.
A system that detects object outlines in television images in real time is described. A high-speed pipeline processor transforms the raw image into an edge map and a microprocessor, which is integrated into the system, clusters the edges, and represents them as chain codes. Image statistics, useful for higher level tasks such as pattern recognition, are computed by the microprocessor. Peak intensity and peak gradient values are extracted within a programmable window and are used for iris and focus control. The algorithms implemented in hardware and the pipeline processor architecture are described. The strategy for partitioning functions in the pipeline was chosen to make the implementation modular. The microprocessor interface allows flexible and adaptive control of the feature extraction process. The software algorithms for clustering edge segments, creating chain codes, and computing image statistics are also discussed. A strategy for real time image analysis that uses this system is given.
Previous research and current opinion are too pessimistic concerning the capability of defining moisture fields from satellite measurements. The TIROS-N sounder is a close analogue to what will fly on GEOS-D and can be used to investigate the probable capability of VAS. Basically, there are three frequencies applied to sensing moisture in the troposphere. The ability of these three measurements to define the moisture pattern is assessed. It is certainly true that one cannot achieve the detail available with a radiosonde hygristor. Sharp discontinuities cannot be sensed by a passive sounder, especially since the measurement tends to "saturate" with the first moisture layer encountered. However, the satellite measurements demonstrate a high degree of skill in defining the horizontal gradient. Moisture "tongues" and "dry lines" are readily delineated with some, perhaps two layers, of vertical definition. These attributes allow both the calculation of important advective quantities as well as (in concert with the temperature sounding) a gross definition of the vertical stability. The skill is demonstrably commensurate with subsynoptic forecast models and perhaps even to regional scale models.
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A Doppler radar system which provides an aircraft with advanced warning of longitudinal wind shear is described. This system uses a Doppler radar beamed along the glide slope linked with an on line microprocessor containing a two dimensional, three degree of freedom model of the motion of an aircraft including pilot/autopilot control. The Doppler measured longitudinal glide slope winds are entered into the aircraft motion model, and a simulated controlled aircraft trajectory is calculated. Several flight path deterioration parameters are calculated from the computed aircraft trajectory information. The aircraft trajectory program, pilot control models, and the flight path deterioration parameters are discussed. The performance of the computer model and a test pilot in a flight simulator through longitudinal and vertical wind fields characteristic of a thunderstorm wind field are compared.
A technique is described in which the longitudinal wind component at airports, measured by Doppler radar, is put through a Fourier transformation to produce an energy density spectrum. The result is multiplied by the aircraft response characteristics to produce quantitative data on aircraft performance in a wind shear situation. The Doppler radar measurements are made along the intended flight path. Two case studies, along a 3 deg approach path, are described from measurements in two modes: Lagrangian, where predictions were computed one range gate ahead of the plane, and Eulerian, where samples were measured instantaneously along the flight path. Wind data obtained every second were interpolated to fit a numerical model by using a cubic spline. Eulerian data were superior to Lagrangian data in terms of ranging, and nearly equal for wind speeds. Improvements in current 75% accuracy are noted to be possible with shrouded antennas to reduce sidelobes and use of Doppler radar with higher resolution to eliminate effects of small scale disturbances within the pulse volume.
Results of studies of wind shear hazard to aircraft operation are summarized. Existing wind shear profiles currently used in computer and flight simulator studies are reviewed. The governing equations of motion for an aircraft are derived incorporating the variable wind effects. Quantitative discussions of the effects of wind shear on aircraft performance are presented. These are followed by a review of mathematical solutions to both the linear and nonlinear forms of the governing equations. Solutions with and without control laws are presented. The application of detailed analysis to develop warning and detection systems based on Doppler radar measuring wind speed along the flight path is given. A number of flight path deterioration parameters are defined and evaluated. Comparison of computer-predicted flight paths with those measured in a manned flight simulator is made. Some proposed airborne and ground-based wind shear hazard warning and detection systems are reviewed. The advantages and disadvantages of both types of systems are discussed.
The Proceedings of the Workshop on Meteorological and Environmental Inputs to Aviation Systems, hosted by the University of Tennessee Space Institute, October 26-28, 1982, were prepared for publication. The Proceedings were submitted to FAA and will be distributed by August. Also, the proceedings of a one day workshop devoted specifically to wind shear and hosted during the same time frame were prepared and distributed. Plans for the 1983 workshop are proceeding extremely well. The workshop theme was established, the committee topics identified, and all ten committee chairmen contacted have agreed to accept their respective assignments. Additional logistics for the workshop are being carried out. The 1983 workshop is scheduled for October 26-28, 1983. Data gathered with the B-57B during the Joint Airport Weather Studies Project in Denver, Colorado, were analyzed. All runs for Flight 6 on July 16, 1982, were analyzed. Spectra, cross spectra and probability distributions were computed for each run. Also, Runs 10-14 of Flight 7 on July 15, 1982, were analyzed in similar detail.
The wind shear program is directed toward investigating the effects of wind shear on aerodynamic performance. Combining the Joint Airport Weather Studies wind shear data with the B-57B gust gradient data, the transient scales of motion involved in wind shear aircraft accidents or mishaps are being identified. The effect of variable winds having these time scales on the aerodynamic coefficients of moist airfoils were fully investigated. Transient and spatial variation of flow over the airfoil may cause premature stall or hysteresis effects which significantly impact the lift and drag (i.e., aerodynamic coefficients). Analysis of airfoil performance subject to 4-D variable flows will be carried out.
(Previously cited in issue 06, p. 921, Accession no. A82-17810)